Recently 2 col­lege stu­dents Leslie Pope and John Wag­ner were arrested over a $16.35 tip.  Per­son­ally I under­stand their frus­tra­tion with lousy ser­vice and the manda­tory 18% gratuity.

My fam­ily and I were at din­ner at The Gal­ley in Santa Mon­ica, CA. Great restau­rant, but, because of the size of our party they were adding the 18% gra­tu­ity to or bill.  Ser­vice by our wait­ress was HORRIBLE she never checked us.  The bus boy and other staff mem­bers were wonderful.  As an eti­quette con­sul­tant I know that not tip­ping is not an option besides every­one else was won­der­ful, I spoke to the man­ager explained to him the lousy ser­vice the wait­ress gave us, but pointed out there was another waiter that took care of us along with the bus boy and he said he would make sure that the appro­pri­ate staff received the tip.

From time to time receiv­ing lousy ser­vice does hap­pen but unfor­tu­nately when you are in a large party your bill have the 18% gra­tu­ity added.  If you are not OK with this then don’t eat there. If your ser­vice is lousy then speak up. But, don’t ever NOT tip.  The tip is divided by other sup­port staff so by pun­ish­ing the waiter/waitress you are also pun­ish­ing other employ­ees who have done their job.

Here is a guide­line that was part of an arti­cle I recently wrote on who and how much to tip

• Bar­tender — 15% of bill or $1 per drink, whichever is greater
• Cock­tail Wait­ress — 15% of bill or $1 per drink, whichever is greater
• Coat Check Atten­dant — $1 per coat
• Restroom Atten­dant — $1
• Hotel Maid — $2 to $5 per night depend­ing on the qual­ity of the establishment
• Hotel Bell­man — $1 to $2 per bag
• Hotel Concierge — $5 to $10 for secur­ing your reservation
• Sky­cap — $1 per bag

I would love to hear from…. Share your thoughts, eti­quette faux pax sto­ries or ques­tions…  Jules